It had been a little while since we have had an outdoor social gathering, so seeing it was Easter the word was put out that for those interested and/or not working we decided to head to Welly Dam. It has to be put down as one of the latest starts on record. Steve was first to arrive soon after 9 and Justin got there 20min later. Lisa and I were next to arrive at 10, but within another 45min more people drifted in and we soon had a mottle mob in attendance:
Whether it was the fact that it was the Easter weekend, a late start or that people we munging out on hot cross buns (Steve note Lisa handing them out above) I can’t say. But whatever the reason it seemed like everyone was in more than usual casual relax mode and the sense of urgency to cram in the lines or indeed to even consider another route seemed lacking:
While I was not climbing today, as my last visit here had aggravated my shoulder a little too much, I encouraged people to tie in and take on a few lines. It ended up being one of the busiest times I have seen at Welly Dam, due to two other groups also turning up. So there were ropes everywhere. Some people had their first introduction to the fine faces here, such as Justin taking on and making easy work of the fine Pocket Knife:
With all these ropes going up it was inevitable that some stayed up as top-ropes. Every route that got led got a good workout with numerous people following up. One of the other mob had turned up from a bit further south and included Aaron, who while receiving my emails for a while now I had not till this time meet. The other group strangely tucked themselves away in a corner and didn’t interact with anyone else:
I usually have a reasonable measure as to what climbs people will have a good crack at and enjoy. But today I hadn’t accounted for the less than focused mood of the day and it seemed that on more than one occasion people could have accused me of sand bagging them. That included Denis who should have eaten up Rock Therapy, but instead did a bit of wavering and whining from the start till (eventually) the end:
Then there were those (well one person) who self-inflicted a sandbag on themselves. Wiggins had decided a few weeks back his next project was going to be the impressive Long Goodbye. Personally I reckon it is under graded and poses one of the most mentally exhausting challenges at the dam. The mantle at half height being one of the best and sketchiest moves in the quarry that can really mess with your head:
I couldn’t resist a second image of Wiggins on this route which he did get to the top of, but it took a lot of energy and a number of good falls. It was a solid first attempt at leading this route, and afterwards he admitted that it may take him a while to get a clean lead of this one. When he does he may need to finesse this section so he can make a more efficient clip. Despite what it may look like he was far from being in a solid stance and many watched him making the clip expecting a fall:
Several people were “getting back into it”, and so the opportunity to jump on numerous lines with ropes on them was ideal. Andrew, Lou and Alan all took advantage of the many lines and Andrew even decided to have a bash on a lead, that said he may have left it a little late in the session, as he enjoyed a fair bit of air time tackling his chosen lead:
Not climbing myself I was able to take a bit more time with my photography and while I have images of people on most climbs here, this time I could get in a few angles that I wouldn’t normally. When I arrived Steve had a rap on Savage Sausage Sniffer and he eventually jumped on it for a lead but said he wasn’t feeling that confident. It didn’t show as he cruised it all the way to the “Mikey pinch”, only to miss the pinch and attempt to use a less effective hold… one which sent him flying with the finish only inches away from his fingertips:
While Denis’s head wasn’t altogether in it he soldiered on and knocked up a fair few lines. It seems that he is no longer haunted by the memories of March flies eating away at his legs as he clung onto the holds, and he is back into liking it at Welly Dam. Today was in fact amazing no flies or mossies and the rock was in great condition, and yes Howsie despite the late start I even heard and say the Red Tails flying by:
As the day wore on the temperature was rising and the arms were feeling heavier and heavier. Even on top rope people were sitting back and work things through, slipping off holds they really shouldn’t and general not looking quite as committed as they had at the start of the session:
Even those leading seemed to be failing off routes they shouldn’t. Whippers were being taken left, right and centre. The concentration on faces was evident as they both worked out how to make the moves and battled with the nagging doubts of whether they were capable in their current state of weariness. It was great to see that despite the relaxed nature of the day it still took a fair beating before defeat was accepted:
It was a great day out, even though I didn’t do one climb, and after five hours of watching, chatting and eating hot cross buns it was time to head off and leave the die-hards to continue lounging about on the grass relaxing in the shade of the trees. I’ll leave it at that other than to say have a great Easter and on Sunday morning keep your eye out and you will be sure to find all those hidden treasures:
Sandbagged 